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Care More

A simple antidote to a corporatized, unfeeling, profit-maximizing world:

Care.

Care more than you need to, more often than expected, more completely than the other guy.

No one reports liking Steve Jobs very much, yet he was as embraced as
any businessperson since Walt Disney. Because he cared. He cared deeply
about what he was making and how it would be used. Of course, he didn't
just care in a general, amorphous, whiny way, he cared and then
actually delivered.
Politicians are held in astonishingly low esteem. Congress in
particular is setting record lows, but it's an endemic problem. The
reason? They consistenly act as if they don't care. They don't care
about their peers, certainly, and by their actions, apparently, they
don't care about us. Money first.
Many salespeople face a similar problem--perhaps because for years
they've used a shallow version of caring as a marketing technique to
boost their commissions. One report by the National Association of
Realtors found that more than 90% of all homeowners are never again
contacted by their real estate agent after the contracts for the home
are signed. Why bother... there's no money in it, just the possibility
of complaints. Well, the reason is obvious--you'd come by with cookies
and intros to the neighbors if you cared.

Economists tell us that the reason to care is that it increases
customer retention, profitability and brand value. For me, though,
that's beside the point (and even counter to the real goal). Caring
gives you a compass, a direction to head and most of all, a reason to do
the work you do in the first place.

Care More.

It's only two words, but it's hard to think of a better mantra for
the organization that is smart enough to understand the core
underpinning of their business, as well as one in search of a reason for
being. No need to get all tied up in subcycles of this leads to this
which leads to that so therefore I care... Instead, there's the
opportunity to follow the direct and difficult road of someone who truly
cares about what's being made and who it is for.